English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill Report Stage: New Clause 69
189Ayes
320Noes
Defeated · majority 131 · Government won139 did not vote
648 Members · Aye 189 · No 320 · DNV 139 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
Parliament voted on 25 November 2025 on New Clause 69 to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which would have restricted the government's power to postpone local elections during council reorganisation. The clause was defeated by 320 votes to 189. The vote concerned a specific protection for the timing of local elections. The new clause would have prevented ministers from using council restructuring as a justification for delaying scheduled votes. The government opposed it, arguing that complex reorganisation processes sometimes make postponing elections unavoidable and that the clause would remove necessary flexibility, while promising elections would be held as soon as practicable. Opposition parties united against the government's position. Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Greens, and several independents all voted for the new clause. Every Labour and Labour Co-operative MP who voted opposed it, a total of 318 votes, with no Labour rebels recorded. The vote took place on the same day as the bill's Third Reading, at which the government prevailed 322 to 179, placing this defeat of the new clause within a broader day of contested votes on the bill's democratic accountability provisions.
Voting Aye meant
Support requiring local elections to be held on schedule, preventing the government from using reorganisation as a reason to delay democratic votes.
Voting No meant
Oppose the restriction, arguing the government needs flexibility to postpone elections during complex council restructuring while remaining committed to holding them as soon as practicable.
Each row is one party. The stacked bar gives the within-party split of Aye / No / Absent; the columns on the right give the raw counts. The whip column shows the published party position — “Free vote” means the whip was formally removed for this division.
Party
Whip
Aye / No / Abs
Aye
No
Abs
Labour Party
Whipped No
0
289
72
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
99
0
17
Liberal Democrats
Whipped Aye
67
0
4
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
29
13
Independent
—
4
3
6
Scottish National Party
—
0
0
9
Reform UK
Whipped Aye
8
0
0
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
5
0
0
Green Party of England and Wales
Whipped Aye
3
0
1
Plaid Cymru
—
0
0
4
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Your Party
—
1
0
1
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
0
0
1
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
1
0
0
Ulster Unionist Party
—
1
0
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
Government has listened to concerns and is delivering new devolution powers including visitor levy, protecting councillor safety by not publishing home addresses, and setting national taxi licensing standards while strengthening local audit oversight.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (4,181 words) →
The Bill centralises power upward to combined authorities and statutory mayors at the expense of local voices, parish councils and genuine community empowerment; councils lack funding to implement new duties.Liberal Democrat · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,417 words) →
Questioning whether the overnight visitor levy will apply to council areas without a mayor and whether foundational strategic authorities will have this power.Liberal Democrat · Voted aye · Read full speech (859 words) →
Welcomes general power of competence for national park authorities but concerned that new unitary authorities should not dominate park authority board membership with a majority.Unknown · Voted aye · Read full speech (215 words) →
Two local authorities in her constituency operate effective committee systems; questions why Government proposes additional hurdles for councils to continue operating this proven governance model.Liberal Democrat · Voted aye · Read full speech (103 words) →
Raises point of order about Government pre-announcement of visitor levy via press release before statement to Parliament, contrasting with earlier ministerial claims of not pre-empting Chancellor.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,922 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0